Signal for pneumatic tires.



S. SILVERMAN & J. E. TRAHAN.

SIGNAL FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.18, 1909.

Patented July 20, 1909.

S. SILVERMAN & J. E. TRAHAN.

SIGNAL FOR PNEUMATIO TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18, 1909.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL SILVERMAN AND JOSEPH E. TRAHAN, OF WATERTOWN, NEW YORK. v

SIGNAL non PNEUMATIC Trans.

Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed February 18, 1909. Serial No. 478,634.

Patented July 20, 1909.

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signals for Pneumatic Tires, of which the following is. a s eoification.

This inventionrelates to 1mprovements in signals for pneumatic tires, designed for use in connection with the tires of automobiles,

auto-trucks and bicycles, and has for its ob-' ,ieot toprovide for giving an audible signal DI- alarm in case the tires of the vehicle become partially or entirely deflated.

Automobiles and other vehicles upon which pneumatic tires are used, depend for v their safe and proper operation upon the tires being inflated to a certain extent by 'air ressure. All such tires are liable to,-and do or one reason or another, become more or less deflateddur'ing the operation of the apparatus, and require frequent pumping up.

Often the tires become deflated to a dangerous extent before the operator becomes aware of the fact, and punctures and'other damages result.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a si nal, to be carried by each tire or wheel, whic is self-sustaining and self-acting, and which when-properly installed will give an audible warning lnstantly the pressure in the tire falls below a given point, and which will re eat the signal once every revolution until t e pressure of the affected wheel is restored. And a further object is to rovide a device of the class, which is simple, urable, effective, inexpensive, and which will stand considerable wear and abuse and not get out of order.

To this end. the invention consists of a flexible rubber bulb, of peculiar form, which is inserted in the cavity of the outer tire or shoe, and preferably lies between the rim of the wheel and the inner ..or air tube, in such manner that its outer flexible side is disposed in close proximity to the tread of the tire, in position to "be depressed when the tire flat tens through deflation.

The invention furtherconsists of a tube which passesthrough the telly and rim of the wheel and connects with the rim-side of the bulb, by means of, which the air contained in the bulb maybe forced out, when the tire becomes deflated sufiiciently to allow the weight of the vehicle to press the bulb against the rim".

The invention further consists of a whistle ad'ustably mounted on the outer end of the tu e in position to be sounded by the air exhausted from the bulb, to warn the occupants-of the car that the tire needs'pumpingup. means for shielding the whistle from dust and dirt and injury from other causes while the vehicle is in operation- 7 Other features and parts of the invention And the invention further consists of will be understood from the detail descri tion which follows, and by reference to t e accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure I is a sideview of a wheel having a pneumatic tire, to which our signal is applied."

ig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal seotionof a portion of the wheel, showingthe manner of constructingand a plyin the signal operating parts, the whist e not 'eing shown. 7 Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section, substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1, showing the construe-- tion and arrangement of the complete device; also showing by dotted lines the manner in which the bulb is compressed forsounding the signal, when the tire flattens, as when the latter becomes deflated. Fig. 4.- is an en-' larged view of the shield for the whistle. 5 is an enlarged view of the whistle.

milar characters of reference are assigned to corresponding parts throughout .the several views. i

In the drawings, 2 represents the hub, 3 the spokes, 4 the folly, 5 the rim, 6 the outer tire or shoe, and 7 the inner or air tube of an automobile wheel. Within the tire 6 preferably centrally between two sokes,' and 0 lposite the filling tube 8 we is o'se a ho ow flexible rubber part or bulb 9,-w ich is preferably made of heavy material similar to that of the outer tire, having the usual fibrousreinforcing 10 to give it strength, and having a large airspace or cavity 11. The bulb 9 is preferably-made in the form shown at 12, in

igs. 2 and 3, so that it may conform to the rim-and also to the inner walls of the cavity of the tire,'-in order that the bulb may be maintained in proper position. The outer side of thebul is preferably smooth and K rounding, so as to prevent injuryto the inner tube a ainst which it normally contacts. The wa ls of the bulb are referably made considerably thicker than t oseof the inner tube, so that the (pressure exerted by said tube when inflate with Working pressure,

'may not compress the bulb and exhaust the air therefrom. v

.13 represents a metallic part or flanged nut embedded centrally in the inner side of the bulb. The part 13 has a threaded perforation 14 to receive a pipe or tube 15, which passes outwardl through suitable openings 1n the rim and ell The outer end of the pipe 15 is/threade and a jam-nut 16 is a plied and screwed down tightly against t e elly to hold the pipe from becoming loose and detached from the bulb. The jam-nut 16 also serves to draw the pi e 15 outwardly and by that means the bul is drawn and held tightly against the rim and inner wall of the outer tire 6.

17 represents a whistle, the base of which is internally threaded to receive the outer end of the pipe 15, and 1 8 represents a second jam-nut W ch is employed for holding the whistle in place.

19 represents a shell or shield which surrounds and inoloses the greaterpart of the whistle and which is connected to the base of the whistle by threads. The shield is pro-' vided with a series of openin s or windows 20 through which the sound oft e signal may be heard. The shield is employed to .protect the whistle from injury from contact with objects along the road, and also to prevent dust and dirt from clogging the vents 21 of the whistle. The arran ement of the shield is such that if any dirt s ould enter the windows when the device is nearest the ground it will be shaken out of the samewhile the device is being carried around with the tire.

The construction of our tire signal is extremely simple and ma be apphed readily to an automobile whee by simply perforating t e rim and felly so as to permit the 1n-.

sertion of the whistle tube 15. The bulb 9 is formed and ap lied in such manner that it bulb should extend to within one-half or three uarters of an inch of the inner treadwall 0 the tire, so that when the tire flattens, as all tires do, while working normally to about. the extent shown by the dotted line 22 in Fig. 2, there will st ll be a small the whistle (see Fi 3). The insertion'of the flexible or res' ient bulb 9 within the outer tube does not lessen the resilienc of the tire, and the disposition of the bul is such that the innertube may-be properly charged with the pressure, and the air may circu ate freely the full length of the inner tube. Under this construction and arrangement of the signal parts, the signal will be sounded once each revolution of a deflated tire, or as often as that part of the wheel in which the bulb is located strikes the ground. 1 Owing to the manner in which the device is constructed and applied the we' ht of the car is utilized to compress the bul althou the pressure of the air in the inner tu e cannot do so. Each time after the alarm is sounded .by the exhausting of the air from chamber 11 of the bulb, through the tube 15 and the whistle, as the wheel continues its rotary movement, the

bulb will refill, and be ready to give the whistle another blast when the next revolution of the wheel is com leted. The more the tire becomes deflate the louder and stronger will the whistle sound, until it has attracted the attention of the occupants of the car.

Having thus described ourinvention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a neumatic tire s al, the combination wit a vehicle whee equipped with an outer and an inner tire tube, of an elastic bulb disposed within the outer tube and between the inner tube and the rim of the wheel, the said bulb having an air chamber provided with a vent on the side facing the rim, the said bulb partially filling the hollow space in said outer tube and adapted to be depressed to exhaust the air therefrom'b attening of the outer tube, and a w istle carried by the wheel, the said whistle oper atively connected to the said bulb and adapted to be sounded by air exhausted from said bulb.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

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